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What’s Ahead
Budget Deadline Looms as Congress Aims to Finalize FY17
Congressional leaders and the White House are negotiating to finalize fiscal year 2017 spending by a Friday deadline, when the current continuing resolution expires and funding is set to dry up. After weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the appropriations bills that fund the science agencies are nearly complete, but a number of issues, such as funding for a U.S.- Mexico border wall and Obamacare insurance subsidies, remain unresolved. Republicans, who control the House, Senate, and White House, will need support from some Senate Democrats to pass a spending package. If there is no agreement by Friday, the government could shut down or Congress could extend the current continuing resolution to buy more time for negotiations.
Extraterrestrial Life Search in House Spotlight
On Wednesday, the House Science Committee is holding a hearing to learn about the latest progress in the search for life in the galaxy. Witnesses include Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate; Adam Burgasser, a UC San Diego physics professor; James Kasting, a Penn State geosciences professor and organizer of the recent National Academies workshop “Searching for Life Across Space and Time”; and Seth Shostak, an astronomer at the SETI institute. Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) is an astrobiology enthusiast and referred to his “special interest” in the subject at a hearing earlier this year.
National Academy of Sciences Kicks Off Annual Meeting
On Saturday, the National Academy of Sciences commences its 154th annual meeting, which runs through May 2. The meeting is only open to NAS members and their guests, but some sessions will be webcast, including NAS President Marcia McNutt’s inaugural address and a symposium on deep learning and artificial intelligence. Prior to the meeting, the academy is holding a public memorial event on Friday for former NAS President Ralph Cicerone, who passed away last year.
House to Discuss New Path to Yucca Mountain
On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will meet to discuss draft legislation that aims to help resolve the decades-long stalemate over whether to store nuclear waste inside Nevada’s Yucca Mountain. Among its provisions, the bill would establish various incentives for Nevada, such as priority access to certain grants and a requirement that “any economic benefits derived from the retrieval of spent nuclear fuel” be shared with the state. Last year, the committee discussed how bolstering nuclear R&D in Nevada could play a role in garnering local acceptance for the repository.
NRC-DOE Advanced Nuclear Reactor Workshop Convenes
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy are holding a free two-day workshop in Rockville, Maryland, on advanced nuclear reactor licensing. This is the third in a series of workshops the agencies have organized to receive stakeholder input as they work to regulate and help develop non-light water reactor designs. Congress is currently advancing legislation which would require NRC to establish a process for licensing such reactors. Several presentations that will be delivered at the workshop are already posted here.
NASA Astrophysics and NOAA Advisory Committees to Meet
NASA’s newly formed Astrophysics Advisory Committee will meet for the first time Monday and Tuesday to hear updates on various programs of the agency’s Astrophysics Division. This committee replaces the Astrophysics Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Science Advisory Board will also meet on Monday and Tuesday . Among its agenda items, the board will hear updates from Craig McLean, assistant administrator of the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and acting chief scientist, and it will discuss a proposal for creating a standing working group on high-performance computing.
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In Case You Missed It
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| Scientists and citizens gathered in Washington, D.C., and around the world on April 22 in support of the March for Science. |
Hundreds of Thousands March for Science Around the World
Scientists and supporters gathered in over 600 cities around the world on April 22 for the March for Science. Although it was a rainy day in Washington, D.C., thousands attended a rally near the Washington Monument with over 50 speakers before marching toward the Capitol. The marches received widespread media coverage, including front page mentions in the New York Times and the Washington Post. The organizers are encouraging all interested individuals to participate in post-march events, which can be found on their website.
Many Democratic politicians applauded the marches and some attended in person. Congressional Republicans were largely silent about the event, with the notable exception of House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), who issued a neutral statement on the march. In addition, former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), who chaired the committee from 2001 to 2006, attended a march in Utica, New York.
President Trump has not commented on the march, but a statement he issued on Saturday in commemoration of Earth Day referenced science:
Flow of Energy Research Funding Slows — and Some Freezes
According to an analysis by E&E News, since Jan. 20 the Department of Energy has made $117 million available through three funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), compared to $533 million offered through dozens of FOAs last year during the same time period. DOE has also reportedly halted funding for some ARPA–E grants that were approved during the Obama administration. Asked about the freeze, a DOE spokeswoman said that the department is “applying good governance principles to how these programs are being executed.”
Trump Signs First Comprehensive Weather Policy Update Since 1992
President Trump signed the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act into law on April 18, bringing a close to a four-year effort that represents the first comprehensive legislative update to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather programs since 1992. Among the law’s changes to NOAA’s weather research, forecasting, and observations programs are authorizations for a new seasonal forecasting program, a greater focus on research-to-operations, and measures to improve coordination across the U.S. weather enterprise. FYI’s analysis and section-by-section summary of the law is available here.
Science Committee Chair Suggests NSF Focus on Reproducibility
In an April 21 article in the Daily Caller, House Science Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX) expanded on his views concerning the reported inability of researchers to reproduce large swaths of scientific research results. He has cited the issue in advancing legislation to restrict what research the Environmental Protection Agency can use in writing new regulations, in questioning the legitimacy of climate research, and in exploring policy issues facing the National Science Foundation. Smith proposes four steps NSF could take to foster reproducibility: 1) setting aside three percent of research funds for reproducibility studies, 2) enforcing the requirement that data generated by federally funded research be made publicly available, 3) taking the lead in establishing a database to enable public access to research data, and 4) encouraging scientific journals to publish reproducibility studies and establish consistent retraction policies.
Eight Senators Urge Trump to Fill Science Posts
Eight Democratic members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee sent a letter to President Trump on April 21 urging him to fill science positions in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and federal agencies. The Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over the five OSTP positions that require Senate confirmation: its director (who typically also serves as the president’s science advisor) and four associate directors. President Trump has yet to nominate individuals for these roles, although U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Michelle Lee is reportedly being considered for the director position. Trump interviewed two scientists for the position in January, Yale computer science professor David Gelernter and Princeton physics professor William Happer, but the administration has not mentioned them since.
Lab-Directed R&D Program Gets High Marks in Official Review
The Department of Energy’s Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program received a strong endorsement from an advisory panel that reviewed the national laboratories’ procedures for allocating the money and assessing its impact. In their draft final report, the panel concludes that the labs employ rigorous processes for managing the funds — currently over $500 million annually across the lab system — and that the program is critical to attracting and retaining a high-quality workforce, especially at the weapons labs. They also stress that the funds help the labs foster creativity, perform higher-risk exploratory research, and support “bottom-up” proposals alongside “top-down” strategic initiatives. The panel does however recommend that the labs implement a more structured approach to tracking the long-term impacts of the program and consider scaling up best practices and informal coordination mechanisms employed at some labs.
New Interactive Tool Depicts STEM PhD Employment Trends
The National Science Board has launched an interactive infographic that depicts the career pathways of U.S. science, engineering, and health (SEH) Ph.D. graduates using survey data from 1993, 2003, and 2013. The tool allows users to explore trends in how many of these graduates are working in federal and state governments, industry, and academic positions. According to the infographic, consistently over the past 20 years more than 55 percent of SEH doctorates have taken positions outside of the academic sector within 10 years of graduation.
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Events This Week
Thursday, April 27 No events starting today
Saturday, April 29 National Academy of Sciences: 154th Annual Meeting (continues through Tuesday)
Webcast available for certain sessions
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Opportunities AMS Seeking Policy Program Assistant
The American Meteorological Society is currently accepting applications for a policy program assistant. The individual will be responsible for supporting the operations and activities of AMS’ Policy Program, including coordinating communication efforts and planning meetings and events. Applicants that have a bachelor’s degree and relevant experience are encouraged to apply.
Space Studies Board Seeking Associate Program Officer
The National Academies’ Space Studies Board is currently seeking applicants for an associate program officer position. Qualified applicants must have at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field and three years of related work experience.
Know of an upcoming science policy opportunity? Email us at fyi@aip.org.Know of an upcoming science policy event? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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